We're All Fodder

Towards the end of Act Four when Hamlet arrives at the revelation that all beings are one in the same; the web of life is all that connects us as creatures living on Earth. When being interrogated as to the whereabouts of Palonius’ corpse Hamlet describes the cycle of life quite poignantly, “…we fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots.” Inevitably we all survive off each other, we fatten up the cows to drink their milk and eat their meat, and we die after surviving off the cow and feed the decomposers below. Each species is interconnected and relies upon one another. This theme of things and people being connected is developed further when Hamlet delves into the realm of insanity after his father’s death, this lunacy eventually leaves Palonius’ bloody, morbid corpse lying motionless on the floor after Hamlet stabs him. Ophelia hears of her father’s death and is also driven insane, the loss of her beloved father is too much to bear just like Hamlet. This madness is eventually the death of both Hamlet and Ophelia. The insanity also indirectly steals the life of Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Palonius, in the end Hamlet’s obsession with his father’s death and taking revenge inevitably leaves each main character in the play lifeless. This fascination serves as the web that connects each character, like the web that connects each species; the web of life.